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Event Round Up: DeptCon 2016!

DeptCon is quickly becoming the biggest event in the Irish YA calendar, and I was lucky enough to attend (trusty reporter’s notebook in hand) for a second time this year. Run by Department 51, the YA section at Eason (basically like our WHSmith’s or Waterstones) and featuring not one, not two, but twenty-six authors, everyone was VERY EXCITE.

David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (moderated by Steve Boylan)

Eason’s were pulling out the YA big-hitters right away in this first panel: David Levithan and Rachel Cohn talked collaboration, what made them writers, movie adaptations, LGBTQIA+ characters and their next project, which will be their first he-said-she-said book told from the points of view of a brother and sister, as well as reading from upcoming release The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily. I didn’t adore Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, but the sequel was surprisingly funny and entertaining – I may have to give the audiobook a try instead! Recommendations included Nicola Yoon’s upcoming The Sun Is Also A Star. I got to read it in August, so I maaaay have it lined up for review soon…

This may seem like an odd mix, but the logic behind it was that each author is new to YA: Eoin Colfer with an Iron Man tie-in for Marvel, Derek Landy with something typically gory, and Cecelia Ahern with dystopian release Flawed. They talked about the differences between adult or children’s fiction and YA, though the panel was derailed somewhat by the panellists’ antics. At one point a phone went off in the audience to the tune of Careless Whisper, which was very funny. It was noticeable that Cecelia Ahern, the only woman on the panel, got drowned out a bit – but there were plenty of awesome female-led panels throughout the rest of the convention, including…

Holly Bourne and Juno Dawson (moderated by Deirdre Sullivan)

Such a fab panel. Juno Dawson and Holly Bourne were part of the event last year and with more books under their belt this time around were raring to go. Deirdre Sullivan (author of the Prim trilogy and the acclaimed Needlework) is a delight both as a person and as a panellist. She opened with a Harry Potter question (Patronus and House, natch) which led the way for heaps of fun – all while tackling questions about writing, feminism, past books, the Pale-Male-Stale state of prescribed reading lists, fiction vs. non-fiction, the biases of book awards, and writing for and about teenagers who make mistakes, who don’t get everything right the first time. They also hinted at new books, including the book which prompted Bourne to start an epic best movie kiss vote-off, a romantic contemporary about two teenagers who work at a cinema, which sounds AMAZING.

I got my first signings of the weekend out of the way in the shape of What’s a Girl Gotta Do? and All of the Above, but most exciting of all Eason had And A Happy New Year? – Bourne’s Spinster Club novella – on sale TWO WEEKS EARLY! One thing I love at book events is authors taking time to talk to readers and this panel was no exception (and, let’s be fair, it’s nice to be able to mention Holly Bourne’s books in a blog post without it being ANOTHER recommendation. I JUST REALLY LIKE BOOKS ABOUT FEMINISM AND HUMOUR AND FEMALE FRIENDSHIP, OKAY).

photo credit to @dept51

Sarah J. Maas In Conversation (moderated by David O’Callaghan)

Oh, wow. The guest list was already pretty great but by the time Sarah J. Maas’s event rolled around, the theatre was packed. I flail about this series SO OFTEN and don’t even have WORDS for how excited I was to hear Sarah J. Maas had added an Irish stop to her post-Empire of Storms tour – I didn’t like A Court of Thorns and Roses but her Throne of Glass books are just so good, and in terms of sheer popularity, her success has really helped bring the joy back into high fantasy for teenagers. She talked about characters, the writing process, plot twists, cardboard Legolas, fighting to keep Manon Blackbeak in Heir of Fire and what it’s like when a series goes from début novel to actual phenomenon. There was emphasis on music and TV shows, which was fabulous because a) it made the panel vivid and entertaining and b) THEY ARE ENJOYABLE STORYTELLING MEDIA and I too have been using this as my excuse for indulging in so much of them *ahem*

Then of course came talk of the Throne of Glass TV adaptation (announced as Queen of Shadows), and while the quality and results of the adaptation remain to be seen, it was cool to hear her highlight women in the production team she admires, and her hopes for the series. There was a lot of fangirling going on during this panel (there was a lot of cheering during most panels, to be fair), but again, she took the time to chat to everyone who went to get their books signed (and I would expect nothing less of authors for a category so closely tied to its audience). I was inwardly flailing but spoke coherently AND DID NOT FALL OVER AT ANY POINT *phew*

And thus ended the first day of DeptCon2 not with the absolutely plausible possibility of me falling disgracefully down the staircase but with triumph and SIGNED BOOKS. Between panels I hung out with awesome YA folks (including The Books,The Art and Me‘s Jenny, Eilís, to whom I have become an accidental kdrama enabler??, and the magnificent Jacq, who is lovely and was running about all day like an event-organising superhero), too. Stay tuned to the blog for a day two round up – and a few surprises!